United Steelworkers Local 2010

You are cordially invited to attend our Holiday Party this season. Complimentary snacks, hot drinks, children’s crafts, and door prizes. Non-perishable food donations for Kingston Partners in Mission Food Bank will be accepted.

All Family and Friends Welcome!Remember to wear your ‘Best’ Holiday Sweater!

Local 2010 Office Closures for Holiday SeasonThursday, December 15 at 3pm
The Union Office will close at 3pm on Thursday, December 15th in preparation for our Holiday Party at the University Club which begins at 4pm. Office hours will return to normal Friday, December 16th.Thursday, December 22 at 4:00pm to Tuesday, January 3, 2017
The Union Office will be closed for the Holidays starting at 4:00pm on Thursday, December 22, 2016. The office will reopen on Tuesday, January 3, 2017.Happy and safe holidays to all!

Conciliation Talks Break Down in AA BargainingNovember 17, 2017
Yesterday the Bargaining Committee met again with the Employer to try and reach agreement on major outstanding items. While talks were unsuccessful, CKWS was there to cover the struggle of the AAs. Read more…

USW Employee Benefits Education Session | For Members Only
You are invited to attend a USW Employee Benefits Education Session with Mercer, USW and Management on:Wednesday, November 2, 2016 | 12:30pm to 2:30pmRoom B147 | Botterell HallClick herefor more details.

Halloween Photo ContestDid you, your children, friends or pets dress-up this Halloween? USW Local 2010 is running a Halloween Photo Contest. Submit your photo to contact@usw2010.ca, with your contact information and indicate which of the following categories you are applying for. The photos will be posted on Facebook for our membership to ‘like’. The photo with the most ‘likes’ in each category will win a great prize!

Categories are:
Best child’s costume (under 18)
Scariest costume (open to all)
Most original costume (open to all)
Best group costume (open to all)
Best dressed pet (open to all non-human members of the family)
Best Decorated Halloween House
Best Carved Halloween Pumpkin

Deadline for submitting photos: Friday, November 4, 2016 by noon
Voting will open Monday, November 7, 2016 at 12 noon and close November 10, 2016 at 12 noon.

Rally on Queen’s Campus today to Support Equity and Fairness in Bargaining
Thank you to all that joined the United Steelworkers (USW) Local 2010-01, representing Academic Assistants, and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) Local 901 Unit 2, representing Postdoctoral Scholars, today at our Rally in front of Richardson Hall on Queen’s campus in support of decent work, equity and fair bargaining at Queen’s University.

Rally October 11 to Support Equity and FairnessThe United Steelworkers (USW) Local 2010-01, representing Academic Assistants, and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) Local 901 Unit 2, representing Postdoctoral Scholars, will hold a rally on October 11, 2016 from 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. in front of Richardson Hall on Queen’s campus in support of decent work, equity and fair bargaining at Queen’s University. Watch your email for more details.

Petition – Fair Wages for Academic Assistants | Sign and SupportAcademic Assistants (AAs) at Queen’s do the very important work of supporting, facilitating and cultivating student learning. Local 2010-01 is currently in contract negotiations to try and secure a fair wage for the work they do. The Employer is pushing hard against any financial improvements to their contract. Teaching Assistants (TAs), who perform the same work, are paid approximately $10/hour more than the AA base rate. The TA wage is evidence of the value of the work AAs do at Queen’s, and they deserve an hourly wage closer to parity. Click here to support the AAs by signing the Fair Wage petition.

New Steward/Return To Work (RTW) Representative Structure
We have revised our Steward/RTW Rep Structure. Click here to review the details and update your records. Your Steward/RTW Reps assist you in handling complaints, attending discipline meetings, filing grievances, layoffs, harassment investigations, as well as providing advice, advocacy and overall general support. To find out who your Steward/RTW Rep is and how to contact them, click the link above.

Conciliation Dates Confirmed!

Bargaining Committee – Academic Assistants
Local 2010-01 | Support your CommitteeThe Parties have secured dates with Greg Long, the Conciliation Officer from the Ministry of Labour for August 11 and 12, 2016. During these meetings, we will attempt to come to a resolution with the Employer on a number of important issues.

2016 Membership Meeting Schedule | UpdatedAdd these dates and room locations to your calendar and join us each month to be informed of the latest News & Events of your Local Union. Click here for the updated 2016 Membership Meeting Schedule.

We Have Moved Offices
Please note that the USW Local 2010 Office has moved from the house on Barrie St. to a larger space at 154 Albert St. on the other side of campus. Drop by and see our new location.

USW 2010 & Queen’s Joint Job Evaluation Update

On June 27, 2016 the Working Group on Job Evaluation (WGJE) released a joint communication on components of the job evaluation system.

June 2, 2016First Day of Bargaining and Proposed Changes to the Collective Agreement

Your Local 2010-01 Bargaining Committee is getting ready to exchange proposals with the Employer today for the first day of Bargaining. Here is a copy of our proposed Collective Agreement changes for your review. Please note, these are Union proposals only, and so do not include any proposals made by the Employer. The final negotiated Collective Agreement may be vastly different than what the Union has proposed. Monetary proposals have been withheld. Only the Articles to which changes have been made are included in the document.

Bargaining Reference Sheet for Academic Assistants
For a quick guide to the bargaining process please see our Bargaining Reference Sheet below. Currently, we are about to begin the first stage of the bargaining process referred to as negotiations. Click on the image below for more details.

Article 29 of the CA provides Members with an electronic copy of the contract, but you can request a printed copy from HR if you wish. Printed copies are expected to be available over the next few weeks. Please contact your Client Services Advisor in HR by email if you would like a printed copy. Email us at contact@usw2010.ca if you have any questions.

Humanity Fund Presentation

At the April 27,2016 Membership Meeting a special presentation was made by Briana Broderick sent on behalf of the USW Humanity Fund to Nancy Bayly and Anna van der Meulen of the Frontenac Refugee Support Group. The $7500 cheque will be put toward the support of a Syrian refugee family who arrived in Kingston in February 2016.

Know your Paystub 2016

The Day of Mourning Ceremony – Kingston City Hall – April 28, 2016

The Kingston and District Labour Council held a Day of Mourning Ceremony at City Hall, Memorial Hall on April 28th from 11:30 am to 1pm. Guest Speakers were Nancy Hutchison from United Steelworkers and City of Kingston Mayor Brian Paterson.

April 28th is International Day of Mourning – a day for unions, all workers, friends and family to remember those killed or injured on the job. On average, 2 Canadian employees are killed every day in work-related incidents and many more become injured or sick from exposure to hazardous materials. Let us all pause to remember the suffering caused to workers, families and the community by unsafe work places.

Local 2010-01 | Academic Assistants | Collective Bargaining
The 2010-01 Collective Agreement expires August 31, 2016. We will deliver notice to bargain in June 2016, 90 days before the expiration of the agreement, in accordance with the Labour Relations Act. The Bargaining Committee of 3 Members, one of whom will be Jane Russell Corbett as the AA Unit Chair, has been formed.

Equal Pay Day – April 19, 2016!

Equal Pay Day symbolizes how far into the year that women need to work, to earn what men earned in the previous year! See Equal Pay Coalition.WEAR RED on Equal Pay Day to symbolize how far women and minorities are “in the red” with their pay!

On average, women in Ontario earn 12% to 31.5% less than men. This difference in pay is called the gender wage gap.

Closing the Gender Wage Gap – ALL WORKERS are invited to complete the brief (10 minute) survey before February 29, 2016 to have your voice heard!

There is overwhelming evidence that closing the gender wage gap has both economic and social benefits. As part of our economic plan, the government is in the early stages of developing a strategy to close the gender wage gap.

Share your experiences and feedback to help us close the gender wage gap in Ontario.

Your feedback will be considered by the Gender Wage Gap Strategy Steering Committee before it reports back to the government with recommendations in 2016.

2016 Membership Meeting Schedule
Add these dates to your calendar and join us each month to be informed of the latest News & Events of your Local Union.Click here for the 2016 Membership Meeting Schedule.